Sponsored by:

The Hottest Auburn Blog on The Net

10.10.2009

Arkansas 44, Auburn 23

Hey everyone. I'll be posting some relevant stats, quotes and information here as the afternoon progresses.

Gene Chizik said LB Eltoro Freeman is on the team, but didn't make the trip because of "personal issues."

Onterio McCalebb on what the loss means: ``You're going to see a whole different team from what you've seen. We're going to go out there and practice hard. We're not going to be not focused in practice. We're going to come out ever hard because of this loss right here.

Adam Herring on what happened: ``Coming out of halftime, we knew we were still in it. We knew what our offense would be capable of. We didn't put it together as a team today. We just didn't get the breaks."

Ted Roof on front-line substitutions: ``We rotated and played a lot of people. That's going to help us develop some depth. We need to do that and we're going to continue to do that. When we do sub, the guys who come into the ball game have to get it done for us."

Gus Malzahn on what he told players at halftime: ``We just started talking about that there's nothing they were surprising us with. It was just a matter of executing. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot early with some execution, some penalties and some drops, some overthrows -- just some things that we hadn't done all year up to this point."

GAME DAY: Auburn @ Arkansas

Hey everyone. I have arrived in Fayetteville for this morning's game. Traffic here usually is hell. It was light today. Very few tailgaters around. Little buzz. It's too early.

So it goes.

UPDATES

As best I can tell, LB Eltoro Freeman is not here. I don't think he's in trouble. I don't think he's been disciplined. I think he's out on his own accord. I don't know that for a fact. We'll find out more later today.

G Byron Isom is dressed out.

Auburn warms up in two groups: offense and defense. There were 26 players on the defensive side. That would not count as an excess.

Arkansas' top WR, Joe Adams, is not dressed out. He apparently was injured in practice Thursday.

10.09.2009

First post: Friday of Week Six

Hey everyone. I had a moderately tough travel day on Thursday. I didn't get into Tulsa until 11 p.m. or so. I was debating when to write today's story -- yesterday morning or yesterday afternoon after arriving at my parents' house in Tulsa. Let's just say I made the right decision. The story is linked below.

My journey sucked, but I want to give Delta/Northwest some propers. After our second attempt to land in Tulsa failed and we were forced to fly back to Memphis, they easily could have washed their hands of it. Instead, they refueled the plane, summoned a new crew and we made a third (and ultimately successful) approach into Tulsa. To avoid that storm, though, we flew all the way to Kansas City and back down into Tulsa.

What normally is a 45-minute flight became a nearly two-hour flight, but we made it. Big love to Delta/Northwest for that.

TODAY'S SCHEDULEAuburn is flying to Fayetteville, Ark., today. That trek will begin at the Montgomery airport. The team will stay in Springdale, located approximately 10 miles north of Fayetteville. I am chillin' in Tulsa with my peeps, going to a football game at my old high school (Holland Hall Prep) and kickin' it with my boy Woodhead alongside the gridiron. I'm pretty geeked.

Saturday's situation: I'm leaving Tulsa around 6:30 a.m. for the two-hour drive to Fayetteville. Traffic can get gnarly over there, so my goal is to walk into the press box around 10 a.m.

First Post: Thursday of Week Six

Hey everyone. So we run a story about Bart Eddins this morning -- see below for the link -- and we're already dodging barbs from Alabama fans:

Why is it, that Awfulburn always has a photo posted, and are always on the top of the sports page? This has got to be the most biased newspaper in the world, besides the New York Times. Awfulburn, and Obama, it never ends!

Funny, we're often accused of being pro-Alabama as well. I wonder who's right? Maybe neither side? Maybe we cover the two teams equally?

In other news, Santa Claus is asking for a higher mileage reimbursement.

TODAY'S SCHEDULEAuburn will hold a workout this afternoon that will be mostly non-contact and will leave for Arkansas tomorrow morning. I am leaving for Arkansas this morning. My peeps live in Tulsa, Okla., which is two hours from Fayetteville, and that's always good for a laugh or two. I'm flying through Memphis around 1 p.m. if anyone would care to say hello.

First Post: Wednesday of Week Six

Hey everyone. Thanks for watching my video, which was posted last night. There was a lot of funny stuff going on. Antonio Coleman is far less quotable than he once was, but he hasn't lost any authority among teammates. When he tells a man to shut him mouth, that man shuts his mouth.

I told you all about Mario Fannin's letter jacket thing earlier this year. Since it's a bit chilly at night now, No. 27 again is flossing at all times. I could tell Kodi Burns got a kick out of it -- the same way you might get a kick out of your dad wearing a pocket protector. OK, maybe that's just my family.

I'm flying to Tulsa, Okla., on Thursday for the Auburn/Arkansas game. My peeps live in Tulsa. This may or may not preclude me from participating in Thursday Night Live. Internet access is spotty at my parents' house.

10.06.2009

Video interviews, 10/6

"Late" Night Chatter

Hey everyone. Evening interviews have ended. Here's the poop.

THE FIVE THINGS

Gus Malzahn is not anxious about going back to northwest Arkansas: ``I got a chance last year to do that (with Tulsa), so I felt that and all the distractions that come with that with friends and family asking for this and that. This is more of a business trip and the fact that I had that experience last year I think will definitely help this year."

Malzahn on Auburn's need to beef up red-zone production after problems at Tennessee: ``I think it's what you focus on and we need to work that much harder. We had a couple opportunities and we're very fortunate our defense was playing extremely well. We've got to find a way to score touchdowns. It was great to get some points, our kicker did a wonderful job, but as an offense we've got to find a way to score touchdowns when our defense gives us opportunities."

K Wes Byrum on his 2008 struggles: ``There wasn't really a low point, it was just after missing a couple, it just got tough. Overall, the team wasn't doing well and I wasn't helping at all on my end of it by putting points up on the board when we were struggling. It just got really tough as the season went on to keep missing as we were all struggling as a team."

Kodi Burns on last season's loss against Arkansas, which was the first without Tony Franklin: ``The whole year was a disappointment. That game in particular, we had several opportunities to get in the end zone and for whatever reason it didn't happen. That just showed the turmoil and the stress the whole team was under. We couldn't even score on four downs from the 3-yard line. We have another chance this year. Everybody is excited about that."

Mario Fannin on Malzahn's attitude this week: ``He's more intense. He's more energetic, and you can tell it's a matter of he wants everything to be perfect. So we understand that and we've got some guys from Arkansas."

BONUS QUOTE

Malzahn, who was jazzed about the team's last Tuesday practice, on today's workout: ``It probably wasn’t up to what last week was. We’ve got to come out tomorrow and Thursday and really focus in. At the same time, we threw a lot at them. Arkansas gives you a lot of different looks and we want to make sure we’re prepared."

BLOGGIN FOR YOUR NOGGIN: Gene Chizik speaks

Welcome to Gene Chizik's weekly press conference, which we chronicle and discuss at length here.

He has arrived.

``This going to be a very exciting and very challenging week for us."

On Arkansas' offense being like Auburn's 2002 version: ``A lot of the same concepts. They're really, really good. It's reminiscent of the ones he had at Louisville and what he has here. A lot of similarities to the things he's always done."

On Ryan Mallett: ``I was in Texas when he was in high school and we knew all about him. He has a cannon for an arm. He's what makes it go in the passing game. He makes a world of difference in that offense. Very efficient, very good."

On Nosa Eguae: ``Day by day. I know know exactly where he is right now."

On if he could play: ``You get into that area where, as the season goes on, you ask if it's worth it. We're still in that window where if he can play, we'd love for him to play."

More on Petrino: ``He's been this way everywhere he's been. He's always had an explosive, high-power offense and he hasn't changed."

On this being a shootout game: ``I don't think it changes your approach. You have to execute better than they execute. He's not going to re-invent the wheel. He's going to do what they do."

On morning games: ``This is uncharted waters for us. That shouldn't have an effect one way or the other. They're playing at 11, too. Those things shouldn't matter."

On Wes Byrum's effect on the offense: ``If he continues to kick like he's been kicking, it's a lot of pressure off. You feel like if you get anywhere near the 30 or 35 yard line, you have a chance to score point. It's big to have that in your back pocket and feel good about it. We have felt good about it."

On kickers: ``They're kind of in their own world, but they're definitely part of this team."

On why Malzahn's offense wears on defenses: ``When you get to the no-huddle world, it's not as physical. This is really the opposite. This is faster tempo, but we're still trying to run the ball downhill and be physical with it. We said, from Day One, that's what we needed to be. This is maybe a little bit different because we have that mindset when the tempo gets pretty quick. You can't sub. Defenses can't line up and they get tired."

On Ben Tate: ``I think Ben has bought into the downhill, physical (stuff). He's showed that he's got some speed. He can hit the corner. When we've had to get tough yards, though, he has shown he can forge ahead and get those yards. He's got to be able to run for those tough yards and he's done that."

How to get a better pass rush: ``That's tough. You do what you do each week. You can do some things schematically, trying to pass rush based on where the center's going, where the back is going. It does get challenging when you're going against the scout team a lot. We try to do as much good-on-good as we can. We've got to challenge our guys this week."

On Arkansas' artificial turf: ``I don't see that as an issue."

On the way Auburn's schedule has worked: ``I'm very happy for our football team and I'm very happy for our coaches. You can't be sitting any better than being 5-0. What is very clear is that we have a long road ahead of us. We're just getting started. There's a lot of great football left to play. There has been a lot of change in (the players') lives over the last 9 or 10 months and it's good that they've had some success. 5-0 is better than the alternative."

On Mike McNeil: ``He has made a good bit of progress. At what point do you say enough's enough and move on and take it to the next season. It's too hard to say. Three weeks from now, the conversation may be different. I don't want him to go out at play at 85 percent. You'd be throwing him in with only a couple days of practice. I don't want to throw a kid in there if he's not at his best."

On Bates' emergence in relation to McNeil: ``It's nice to see a young guy come in and help us out. That's a position where we don't have a lot of depth. I don't think that has made it any easier. We have to have all hands on deck. Daren's gotten better every week. We've seen a definitive difference."

On Bates' hitting: ``He didn't have any of that until started coaching him. It's just built into Daren to be aggressive and a physical guy. As the season wears on, you'll see him become more physical. He's one of those guys who's got it."

On Bates' recruitment: ``We did our homework on him. We wanted him play basketball. We had some in-depth conversation with his high-school coach. It was my belief that he was being under-recruited -- just by watching his body and watching him play basketball. It has paid off."

First Post: Tuesday of Week Six

Hey everyone. Welcome to the middle of a difficult travel period for hacks and fans alike. The trip to Knoxville was tiring, particularly Saturday's trek, but at least I was behind the wheel. Covering games at Arkansas means we must put our lives in the hands of pilots, ticket agents and airport administrators.

I'm not as trusting as I once was. You?

I think this game will be much tougher challenge for Auburn. Had Jonathan Crompton been able to complete just regular passes last weekend, that game would have been much different. Arkansas' quarterback, Ryan Mallett, will be able to complete his passes Saturday.

This will be a real test for Auburn's defense. They're aware of it and all, but I'm not sure how they're going to fix the problems that have been around since two-a-days. Auburn will need a serious pass rush, tight coverage and the ability to thoughtfully adjust coverage responsibilities in real-time.

TODAY'S SCHEDULEShould be a fun one. I'll be BLOGGIN for your NOGGIN during Chizik's chat at 11:30 p.m. Then I'll grab a bite to eat and return for players around 1 p.m. I think two players were available during the same period last week, so I'm keeping expectations low. Then we'll have a second interview session after practice. I'll be summarizing player interviews and I'll be doing a video ... tonight.

10.04.2009

Players speak, 10/4

Hey everyone. Here is a smattering of comments players who were interviewed this evening. They seemed tired. Of course, they didn't arrive on campus until 3 a.m.

Maybe that had something to do with it.

TB Ben Tate said he is taking the Tigers' five OL starters (and other selected players like Eric Smith) out to dinner on Monday night. ``I always told them before if I ran for 150 or 200 yards in certain games, but I never got to it. This time I just told them if I hit about the 130 mark that I would take them out to eat."

The crew won't be dining on haute cuisine. It's Golden Corral night. ``They all like to eat … that’s too much money."

Ted Roof on the defense's fourth-quarter performance: ``In the fourth quarter, when you start managing the game, which the situation dictates, they moved the ball and scored some points through the air. The last play, that’s something doesn’t leave a great taste in your mouth. You have to go back to work. The good news is all those mistakes are correctable, and we’ve got to get them eliminated before we go to Arkansas."

LB Adam Herring, who played high-school ball in Fayetteville, on his return to Arkansas: ``That period of my life, it was half my sophomore year and my junior and senior year of high school. So that's where I really developed some friendships and graduated from high school there. It's a big part of my home. I've moved around quite a bit, but I was there two-and-a-half years."

Kodi Burns on the rankings: ``I had no idea that we're ranked. We just really weren't getting that much respect. That's something that we've all realized on this team and something that we all really stopped worrying about it. We leave it up to those guys who make those decisions. We just go out there and play football, and we're 5-0 at this point and hopefully we'll be 6-0 next week."

Gene Chizik speaks, 10/4

Hey everyone. We're making a small change here. I'll open with a TOP FIVE element of the weekly breakdown. Those are the FIVE things you really need to know about what Gene Chizik said.

After that, it's small stuff that may or may not interest you.

So here we go:

THE FIVE THINGS

On Auburn breaking into the polls: ``The higher the better and all that good stuff. We've only played five games. At this point, it's somewhat insignificant. It only matters where you are in the end of December. All that stuff helps recruiting, but we don't pay a lot of attention to it."

On coaching against Bobby Petrino, with whom Chizik served as an Auburn coordinator in 2002: ``He remembers me for x number of months. A large portion of that, we weren't going against each other, but I was around him enough to know he's one of the best in the country."

On Auburn's defense surrendering 200+ yards during the fourth quarter against Tennessee: ``When you know your opponent has to score three times to win, you just don't want to give the game away for doing some silly things. Most of the night, I thought we played much better defense that we had previously. The fourth quarter got away from us a little bit. We're not looking at numbers and statistics and all those things."

On Eric Smith: ``He's a guy we've got a lot of trust in. He can play two or three (positions) and he plays them well. Our goal is to never take a guy like that and play him on more than two special teams, but he could play on all of them."

Chizik said he'll continue to consider using Philip Pierre-Louis on punt returns, but not on offense. Asked if PPL's repaired knee was the sticking point, the coach said: ``That really hasn't been his issue."

THE OTHER STUFF

On what he learned about his team at Tennessee: ``It was more verification than anything. The verification was similar to what we learned at home -- that we'll play hard for 60 minutes. It was neat to see there wasn't much a difference in the way we responded. I don't know that there were many revolutionary things we learned. It was more verification."

On Auburn's defensive performance: ``I don't know if it was our best or not, but we took some strides in the right direction. I still think we are a work in progress, no question. We have to continue to get better on the defensive side of the ball if we're going to continue to win in October."

More on Petrino: ``He's very, very precise. He knows exactly what he wants. He coaches those guys in minute details. He knows how to run the ball. He knows how to throw the ball. He knows what to expect from you defensively."

On OL Bart Eddins, who earned his first career start Saturday: ``Really proud of Bart. He's really overcome some health issues. He played with the Saturday night. They didn't just go away. I was proud that he was able to step up and help our football team win."

On why Barrett Trotter travels with the varsity: ``We want to keep him around the offense. He does some things with signaling. That's his role on the road."

On S Daren Bates: ``He's gotten better every week. He's still so far away from his potential. He's more relaxed. You're a product of what you continually do. The reps are starting to pile up for him."

Sunday Morning Chatter

Hey everyone. I'm sure you're in a fine mood this morning. And why not? Auburn is 5-0 and just beat Tennessee for the fifth consecutive time.

All in all, I thought Auburn was pretty strong last night. Josh Moon, our fine columnist, is not very high on Ted Roof's defense. I don't think that's necessarily legit criticism. The Tigers are thin. The Tigers don't have a lot of flash on that side of the ball. I still think this offense will do enough work to overcome in many situations.

Is this set-up enough to beat Alabama or LSU? We'll see.

Next up for the team: Arkansas.

Next up for me: Driving back to Auburn. I'll be BLOGGIN' FOR YOUR NOGGIN around 4:30 p.m. with full commentary from Chizik. See you then.